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Terry Norris
| birth_date = | birth_place = Lubbock, Texas, USA | hometown = | style = Orthodox | total = 56 | wins = 47 | KO = 31 | losses = 9 | draws = 0 | no contests = 0 }} Terry Wayne Norris is a retired American boxer and a three-time world champion in the light middleweight division. Originally from Lubbock, Texas, he fought out of San Diego. Early boxing career A star baseball player during his high school years, Norris bypassed a career on the diamond for one in the ring, amassing a stellar 291-4 amateur record. Displaying a stunning combination of hand and foot speed as well as the ability to throw dizzying combos, Norris' athletic ability was an uncanny attribute in the ring. After turning pro Norris compiled a record of twenty one wins and two losses before challenging Julian Jackson in Norris's first title fight. He beat future champion Steve Little for the NABF junior middleweight title in December, 1988, and defended once against Buster Drayton. His two losses were by unanimous decision to Derrick Kelley and a disqualification to Joe Walker when Norris hit Walker when Walker was down. Norris challenged Julian Jackson for the WBA junior middleweight belt in July 1989. Norris seemed to win the first round, but a big second-round right cross from the champion knocked Norris out. Norris made it to his feet before the count but was deemed unfit to continue by referee Joe Cortez. First championship reign After winning three comeback fights, including a victory over former welterweight champion Jorge Vaca, Norris traveled to Tampa, Florida, in March 1990 to challenge John Mugabi for the WBC junior middleweight title. Norris wasted no time in stopping the champion, flooring him twice in the first round - the second time for the full count - and thus starting what would be the first of three reigns as champion. After defending his belt against Rene Jacquot, Norris faced the legendary Sugar Ray Leonard in Madison Square Garden in February 1991. Norris easily beat the faded Sugar Ray via a 12-round unanimous verdict. His next defense, a June victory over another former welterweight kingpin - Donald Curry - further cemented Norris' place in the history of the 154-lb. division as Norris wore down his foe and knocked him out in the eighth. Other prominent foes in that first reign included the tough future titlist Jorge Castro and two welterweight champions, Meldrick Taylor (then the WBA champion), and Maurice Blocker (who held the IBF version at the time of his challenge). Losing and regaining title In a shocking upset in December, 1993, Simon Brown, former WBC and IBF welterweight titlist, knocked out Norris in four rounds to win the title and halt Norris' defense streak at ten. Ring magazine named this fight as their "Upset of the Year" for 1993. In their rematch, Norris then regained the title by unanimous verdict over Brown in May 1994. His second reign proved short when he lost the title by disqualification to Luis Santana in November, 1994. The decision to disqualify Norris was controversial. Norris hit Santana in the back of the head and Santana went down, claiming he was unable to continue. Some at ringside, however, felt that Santana refused to get up in order to gain the disqualification win. Because of the controversial nature of the match, a rematch was ordered. Norris also lost the April, 1995, rematch by disqualification, this time for hitting Santana after the bell had sounded to end the round. In their third fight in August of that year, Norris knocked out Santana to regain his title. Norris then won a 12-round unanimous decision over hated San Diego rival Paul Vaden in December 1995 to add Vaden's IBF title to his WBC version, and made defenses against Vincent Pettway (former IBF champion), Nick Rupa, and Alex Rios, before being stripped of the IBF title by that sanctioning body in 1997. Keith Mullings then ended Norris's championship career by way of ninth-round knockout in December 1997. Post-championship career Norris fought twice more after losing his title. Dana Rosenblatt defeated him by twelve-round decision in a middleweight bout and then WBA junior middleweight champion Laurent Boudouani ended his boxing career with a ninth round knockout. Norris was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2005. Professional boxing record |- |align="center" colspan=8|'47 Wins' (31 knockouts, 16 decisions), 9 Losses (4 knockouts, 5 decisions) http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=532&cat=boxer |- | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|'Result' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|'Record' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|'Opponent' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|'Type' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|'Round' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|'Date' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|'Location' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|'Notes' |-align=center | Loss | |align=left| Laurent Boudouani |TKO |9 |30/11/1998 |align=left| Paris |align=left| |- | Loss | |align=left| Dana Rosenblatt |UD |12 |25/09/1998 |align=left| Foxwoods, Mashantucket, Connecticut |align=left| |- | Loss | |align=left| Keith Mullings |TKO |9 |06/12/1997 |align=left| Caesars, Atlantic City, New Jersey |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Andres Arellano Sandoval |KO |2 |10/09/1997 |align=left| The Aladdin, Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Joaquin Velasquez |KO |2 |08/08/1997 |align=left| Station Casino, Kansas City, Missouri |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Nick Rupa |TKO |10 |11/01/1997 |align=left| Nashville Arena, Nashville, Tennessee |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Alex Rios |TKO |5 |07/09/1996 |align=left| MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Vincent Pettway |TKO |8 |24/02/1996 |align=left| Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Jorge Luis Vado |TKO |2 |27/01/1996 |align=left| Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Paul Vaden |UD |12 |16/12/1995 |align=left| Core States Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| David Gonzalez |TKO |9 |16/09/1995 |align=left| The Mirage, Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Luis Santana |TKO |2 |19/08/1995 |align=left| MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |- | Loss | |align=left| Luis Santana |DQ |3 |08/04/1995 |align=left| Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |- | Loss | |align=left| Luis Santana |DQ |5 |12/11/1994 |align=left| Plaza Mexico, Mexico City |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Simon "Mantequilla" Brown |UD |12 |07/05/1994 |align=left| MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Armando Campas |KO |4 |18/03/1994 |align=left| MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |- | Loss | |align=left| Simon "Mantequilla" Brown |KO |4 |18/12/1993 |align=left| Estadio Cuauhtemoc, Puebla, Puebla |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Joe Gatti |TKO |1 |10/09/1993 |align=left| Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Troy Waters |TKO |3 |19/06/1993 |align=left| San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Maurice Blocker |TKO |2 |20/02/1993 |align=left| Estadio Azteca, Mexico City |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Pat Lawlor |RTD |3 |13/12/1992 |align=left| The Mirage, Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Meldrick Taylor |TKO |4 |09/05/1992 |align=left| The Mirage, Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Carl Daniels |TKO |9 |22/02/1992 |align=left| San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Jorge Fernando Castro |UD |12 |13/12/1991 |align=left| Palais omnisports, Bercy, Paris |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Brett Lally |TKO |1 |17/08/1991 |align=left| San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Donald Curry |KO |8 |01/06/1992 |align=left| Radisson Resort, Palm Springs, California |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Sugar Ray Leonard |UD |12 |09/02/1991 |align=left| Madison Square Garden, New York City |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Rene Jacquot |UD |12 |13/07/1990 |align=left| Patinoire d'Annecy, Annecy, Upper Savoy |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| John Mugabi |KO |1 |31/03/1990 |align=left| Sun Dome, Tampa, Florida |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Tony Montgomery |UD |12 |21/11/1989 |align=left| Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Jorge Vaca |SD |10 |09/10/1989 |align=left| Tijuana, Baja California |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Nathan Dryer |KO |4 |21/09/1989 |align=left| El Cortez Apartment Hotel, San Diego, California |align=left| |- | Loss | |align=left| Julian Jackson |TKO |2 |30/07/1989 |align=left| Atlantic City Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Ralph Ward |UD |10 |23/05/1989 |align=left| The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Buster Drayton |UD |12 |28/03/1989 |align=left| Showboat Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Steve "Lightning" Little |TKO |6 |09/12/1988 |align=left| Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Gilbert Baptist |UD |10 |18/10/1988 |align=left| El Cortez Apartment Hotel, San Diego, California |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Quincy Taylor |UD |10 |12/08/1988 |align=left| Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Clayton Hires |KO |2 |28/03/1988 |align=left| Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Richard Aguirre |TKO |3 |03/02/1988 |align=left| Riverside, California |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Roman Nunez |KO |1 |21/01/1988 |align=left| San Diego, California |align=left| |- | Loss | |align=left| "Smokin" Joe Walker |DQ |1 |25/11/1987 |align=left| Bally's, Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Edward Neblett |TKO |6 |04/09/1987 |align=left| Bally's, Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |- | Loss | |align=left| Derrick Kelly |UD |10 |13/08/1987 |align=left| Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Nathan Dryer |TKO |3 |27/05/1987 |align=left| Showboat Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Sergio Nieto Rayos |TKO |1 |03/04/1987 |align=left| Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Mauro Veronica |KO |2 |26/03/1987 |align=left| Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left|Tino Leon |KO |1 |16/03/1987 |align=left| Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Dick Green |KO |1 |26/02/1987 |align=left| El Cortez Apartment Hotel, San Diego, California |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Gilbert Baptist |UD |4 |05/02/1987 |align=left| Raincross Square, Riverside, California |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Lang McGowan |PTS |4 |03/12/1986 |align=left| Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Carlos Gutierrez |UD |4 |21/11/1986 |align=left| Reseda Country Club, Reseda, California |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Daryl Colquitt |KO |4 |07/10/1986 |align=left| Reseda Country Club, Reseda, California |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| George Murphy |PTS |4 |25/09/1986 |align=left| Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Carlos Gutierrez |UD |4 |13/08/1986 |align=left| Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California |align=left| |- | Win | |align=left| Jose Luis Cordova |KO |1 |02/08/1986 |align=left| San Jose, California |align=left| |} Additional information *Once entertaining scholarships to several schools, Norris quit baseball after a brawl on the field. "We were playing another team one day", Norris recalled, "and there were some racial comments made toward me. I was a little thrown off by it. I rushed the guy who said them, and their whole team jumped on me. I put three guys in the hospital, which was the bad thing of it. People said things like, 'Maybe this guy's a troublemaker,' so a lot of my scholarships fell through.A Champion Who's Fighting Obscurity - New York Times *He settled a lawsuit out of court with Don King for a sum of $7.5 million in 2005. *Brother of Former IBF Cruiserweight Champion Orlin Norris. *The speech of Terry Norris was noticeably slurred even in his early thirties and quite startling to anyone who remembered him from just a few years earlier. After his last defeat, the Nevada athletic commission turned him down for a new license, basing its decision on his impaired speech, which was indicative of brain damage. *Norris was known to spar 12 rounds every other day in preparation for fights. Some speculate that this intense training routine is a factor which may have ultimately led to his early expiration as a fighter. *In preparation for his fight against John "The Beast" Mugabi, his strength trainer put Terry on a regimented weight training program. He went on to KO Mugabi and win the W.B.C. Super Welterweight championship. He continued his strength training for the duration of his career. *A source close to the Norris camp is quoted as saying "The best boxing I ever watched live was sparring between the Norris brothers."BDPboxing References External links * Terry Norris' Official Website. * Myspace Page * Category:1967 births Category:Boxers from Texas Category:International Boxing Federation champions Category:International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Category:Light Middleweight boxers Category:Living people Category:People from Lubbock, Texas Category:World Boxing Council champions